2. Overview
FM Vending is a local vending company that provides vending machine
services, office coffee services, and micromart services. The company
provides the equipment at no cost to the facility in which they place the
equipment. They provide vending and coffee equipment to generate
revenue by selling product directly to consumers at the facility. They
serve a variety of different facilities including schools, hospitals,
manufacturing facilities, offices, casinos, hotels, and military bases.
3. Situational Analysis
FM Vending is based out of Fargo, ND. Their business is most
busy during the winter months because consumers will choose
the convenience of a vending machine rather than eating out to
avoid the harsh cold. Their micromart services allow business to
set up a convenience store in their breakroom to provide value
to their employees. Their technology includes a self-checkout
kiosk that costs around $4,000 and many coolers and shelves
that hold the products. Other technology includes credit card
readers and cameras to mitigate theft due to the concept being
on the honor system.
4. SWOT analysis
Strengths- Capital availability, product portfolio
Weaknesses- Less business in office settings due to pandemic.
Opportunities- Opportunities to expand and gain more
customers are high
Threats- Other vending companies winning over existing
customers
5. Customer
There are 2 levels of customers for FM Vending. First they must
win the business and gain permission to place equipment to sell
to the finals consumer. The first tier of customer is often
management of the facility which may include purchasing
departments, facilities management, or human resources. The
second tier is the end consumer who consumes products from
the vending machine or micromart or when they drink coffee sold
sold by the company.
6. Competitors
Competitors of FM Vending include other vending companies.
Local companies include Snacks Plus, Nugget Vending, and Coca
Cola. All of these companies provide the exact same services to
the same customer bases. Snacks Plus and Nugget vending have
the advantage of being a small business which might help win the
the favor of decision makers within a facility. Their weaknesses
include lower capital and lower quality equipment due to the lack
lack of capital. Coca Cola has a lot of capital availability but is a
large corporation which some consumers often look down upon.
7. Collaborators
The company’s supply chain includes several distributors which
include the large beverage companies (Coke, Pepsi, 7up,
Keurig/Dr. Pepper), coffee suppliers, equipment suppliers, local
restaurants that sell food out of FM Vending’s micromarts, and
its snack distributor known as Vistar. The distribution channels
for FM Vending include its drivers who stock product for the end
consumer in vending machines and micromarts. Business
development representatives drive sales by going after new
business for the company.
8. Segmentation
Demographic- FM Vending serves a variety of demographics. The type of
businesses that they sell to are often large companies with hundreds of
employees. The end consumer that they serve are usually 18 to 65 as
this is the age range that is eligible to work.
Psychographic- Because the majority of the products sold by FM Vending are
unhealthy, the most serves consumer who might consistently disregard nutrition
or is too hungry to care. Most people utilize the services based on convenience
and proximity.
Behavioral- Works at the facility that the company services. Someone may utilize
the service’s ready to eat meals
Geographic- FM Vending serves western MN and all of North Dakota
9. Target Market
FM Vending serves a very wide customer base. The most profitable
ventures are manufacturing facilities which employ the most ideal
end consumer that spends the most amount of money on the
products that FM Vending provides. Blue collar individuals tend to
buy more soda, chips, candy, sandwiches, and pastries than white
collar individuals who tend to be more health conscious. White collar
collar workers are often in office settings and tend to consume more
salads, low calorie/fat beverages, and meals higher in protein and
fiber.
10. Positioning
FM Vending strives to provide the best service at the best value for
their customers while providing value to the facilities that they do
business in. For a facility that relies on attracting workers to
remain profitable, elevating workplace experience by offering
convenience to workers. Elevating workplace experience directly
reduces turnover which reduces costs for facilities.
11. Marketing Objectives
1. Penetrate market for greater share and higher revenues
2. Manage controllable costs like spoilage and lost time due to
inefficient routing
3. Ensure a uniform customer experience by providing training to
route drivers. This will ensure account retention is maximized by
providing great service.
12. Brand Triangle
1
Emotional
Rational
Product Attributes
Full-service vending company that provides vending machines, micromarkets
and coffee services and equipment to a variety of different facilitiies
Functional Benefits
Saves the facility’s employees a trip to the convenience
store by providing the same goods in-house.
Provides employers a way to
reduce turnover at no charge.
The service’s products might also
provide emotional benefits that
provide products that people
identify with (Ex. Diet Coke)
Emotional
Benefits
Loyalty
13. Marketing Mix: Promotions
Advertising- Most of the advertising comes from sales
representatives.
Sales Strategy- Business development representatives drive
business by calling on new customers and creating new
methods of distribution. For example, the company created a
store in a mall in Bismarck , ND. Other new methods include
apartment buildings.
Promotions- Internal promotions at micromarts include deals
on product for end consumers
14. Price
Priced competitively compared to other larger firms. Competitive
analysis is necessary to find the uniform pricing model among
competitors. Most items have a 100% markup, some items, mostly
healthy items are sold at slim margins to provide assortment and
value for customers, (salads ready to eat protein meals)
15. Marketing Research
After working with the company, I have discovered that most of
their promotion comes from their outside sales representatives,
the company does not have a website. A simple google search
showed that its competitors have poorly made sites as well. Their
competitor, Snacks Plus, has a WIX Site (free site builder) that
contains several spelling mistakes and pixelated images. For FM
Vending to drive market share and position themselves to get
more inbound leads, a professionally designed site would do just
that. The website would include description of services, products
offered, and example pictures of equipment and example layouts
for micromarts. By creating a well-designed website that has
optimal SEO, more inbound leads will be received.
16. Contingency Planning
Difficulties and risks in executing plan and continency plan
for each.
There are few risks in creating a website for FM Vending
